Aldo Lado
Författare till Short Night of Glass Dolls
Verk av Aldo Lado
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Taggad
Allmänna fakta
- Födelsedag
- 1934-12-05
- Kön
- male
- Nationalitet
- Italy
- Födelseort
- Fiume, Italy
Medlemmar
Recensioner
Statistik
- Verk
- 5
- Medlemmar
- 18
- Popularitet
- #630,789
- Betyg
- 3.5
- Recensioner
- 1
It is the class politics that Aldo Lado and screen-writer Renato Izzo inject into “L'ultimo Treno Della Notte” that differentiates it and makes it a much more interesting proposition than Craven’s film. That class politics plays out most pointedly in the character of the Lady. It is she who takes control of the situation in the train carriage and orders the working class Blackie and Curly how to behave; it is she who instigates and follows through on the assault on Lisa and Margaret; it is she who leads the clean-up of the carriage and it is she who survives Giulio’s revenge attack at the Stradi house. Lado’s point is clear: the upper classes lead the lower classes to do their bidding, but when things go wrong it is the lower classes that take the blame, while the more culpable bourgeoisie simply shrug and walk away. This is a pretty potent and resonant message in this “age of austerity”. In addition to this non-too subtle subtextural message, the film also has a number of overtly political discussions interlaced with the gruesome attack on the train. We see Giulio at a dinner party engaged in conversation about totalitarianism and the roots of society’s ills and there are also a number of interesting almost throw-away pieces, such as the Catholic cardinal winking suggestively at a young boy and the old men in a carriage singing a fascist marching song. These pieces along with the upper-class Lady’s orchestration of Blackie and Curly would seem to suggest that perversion always lies hidden in the most respectable of places and people.
Technically the film is very good, with Aldo Lado and his cinematographer Gábor Pogány shooting with a carefully crafted and styled approach that amp up the grisly tension on the train. The moody interior lighting effects are impressive – the sequence where The Lady blows out a candle and the carriage changes to an icy, removed blue is particularly well realised. The composition and angles used add to the tension and a mood of claustrophobia, making the audience almost feel as if they are trapped in the carriage with Lisa and Margaret – this is particularly true when the sexualised assaults begin. These sequences are tough viewing as Lado stretches them to almost unbearable length and although clever camera work actually manages to suggest more of the violence than is actually shown, this is still tough, almost unbearable viewing. An excellent score is provided by Ennio Morricone, who uses the throbbing sound of the trains to good effect, while inter-cutting with haunting melodies. He also has Curly blowing softly on a harmonica throughout, which was an idea he suggested to Lado.
The film opens and closes with "A Flower Is All You Need”, a beautifully sung ballad by Demis Roussos that is ironic and adds to the sadness of the overall film. On the down side the acting in the film isn’t too great – Irene Miracle and Laura D'Angelo are both fine and with the exception of Macha Méril everyone else is at best sub-standard. Méril, however, is excellent, portraying a character seduced by evil (and who probably knows she will escape) to great effect. The plot also is slightly reliant on coincidence and in that sense it is a touch contrived. L'ultimo Treno Della Notte” is therefore not without fault, but despite these misgivings, this it is a powerful, nihilistic and horrific film that has a very interesting and thoughtful intellectual coherence and stance. Ironically it was banned in the UK as a "video nasty".… (mer)